Lit AF TourMartin Lawrence – still one of the most successful comedians of all time – hosts this blockbuster comedy tour that stops at the Amway Center this fall. Lawrence brings along Saturday Night Live alum Jay Pharoah and his spot-on impressions, along with young comedians DeRay Davis and Michael Blackson.
7:30 p.m. | Amway Center, 400 W. Church St. | 800-745-3000 | amwaycenter.com | $36.50-$271.50

Perfect Conditions Book Launch PartyIt’s been too long since we’ve heard from Vanessa Blakeslee, the UCF grad and local author. She’s been stretching her wings, doing stints at various writers’ residencies around the country, but now she’s back to kick off the tour for her third book, Perfect Conditions. It’s a departure from her last book, but a return to her first collection – speculative stories, some set in Orlando, with an eerie vibe. Though Blakeslee’s been working on the collection for a few years now, these stories zero in on the current zeitgeist with uncanny accuracy: “kind of an Atwood/PKDick mood,” as she put it in an email, and that sounds just about exactly right to us.
6-11 p.m. | The Imperial at Washburn Imports, 1800 N. Orange Ave. | free

Friday-Sunday, Oct. 19-21

Shameless Book Con
A convention for fans and writers of romance fiction. DoubleTree By Hilton Orlando at Sea World, 10100 International Drive; free-$155; shamelessbookclub.com.

Joel McHale It’s UCF’s homecoming comedy show, but it might be worth hanging out with the kids to see Joel McHale. The former host of The Soup returned to making fun of reality television this year with The Joel McHale Show With Joel McHale, but it was unfortunately canceled because Netflix can’t quite get weekly content right yet. But even though his most recent show went the way of Community, where he played narcissistic former lawyer Jeff Winger, it just makes this show more of a must.
with Jaboukie Young-White | 7 p.m. | CFE Arena, 12777 N. Gemini Blvd. | cfearena.com | $25

Kyle Kinane
An alternative comedy fave, Kyle Kinane headlined the very first Orlando Indie Comedy Fest back in 2014, where he delivered a marathon set that bounced from topic to topic. Kinane’s penchant for going off on tangents that always land in hilarious territory make him a patron saint of those who enjoy the craft of stand-up.
8 p.m. | The Abbey, 100 S. Eola Drive | abbeyorlando.com | $18-$28

Space Hearts Book Release PartyJust a couple of poets laureate sitting around chatting about Florida! This installment of Burrow Press’ Functionally Literate reading series brings together two women with plenty in common. Buckmaster is poet laureate of Belfast, Maine, but grew up in Florida; her new memoir Space Hearts recalls her beach-town childhood within earshot of Cape Canaveral. Lilley is poet laureate of Orlando, an Orlando native (rare!) and author of Satellite Beach, a Floridian memoir in poems.
6-11 p.m. | The Imperial at Washburn Imports, 1800 N. Orange Ave. | burrowpress.com | free